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As the term suggests, for-profit companies are driven primarily by one goal — to maximize profits for their owners. Nonprofits, on the other hand, are generally motivated by a charitable purpose. Here’s how their respective financial statements reflect this difference.

Reporting revenues and expenses

For-profits produce an income statement (also known as a profit and loss statement), listing their revenues, gains, expenses and losses to evaluate financial performance. They report mainly on profitability and increasing assets, which correlate with future dividends and return on investment to owners and shareholders.

By comparison, not-for-profit entities just want revenue to cover the costs of fulfilling their mission now and in the future. They often rely on grants and donations in addition to fees for service income. So they prepare a statement of activities, which lists all revenue less expenses, and classifies the impact on each net asset class.

Many nonprofits currently produce a statement of functional expenses. But a new accounting standard kicks in this year — Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-14, Not-for-Profit Entities (Topic 958): Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities. It will require organizations to classify expenses by nature (meaning categories such as salaries and wages, rent, employee benefits and utilities) and function (mainly program services and supporting activities). This information will need to be expressed in a grid format that shows the amount of each natural category spent on each function.

Balance sheet considerations

For-profit companies prepare a balance sheet that lists the owner’s or shareholders’ equity, which is based on the company’s assets, liabilities and prior profits. The equity determines the value of a company’s common and preferred stock.

Nonprofits, which have no owners, prepare a statement of financial position. It also looks at assets, liabilities and prior earnings. The resulting net assets historically have been classified as 1) unrestricted, 2) temporarily restricted, or 3) permanently restricted, based on the presence of donor restrictions. Starting in 2018 for most not-for-profits, the new accounting standard will reduce these classes to two: 1) net assets without donor restrictions and 2) net assets with donor restrictions.

Footnote disclosures

Another key difference: Nonprofits tend to focus more on transparency than for-profit businesses do. Thus, their financial statements and footnotes include a lot of disclosures, such as about the nature and amount of donor-imposed restrictions on net assets. Starting in 2018, ASU No. 2016-14 will require more disclosures on the amount, purpose and type of board designations of net assets. Additional disclosures will be required to outline the availability and liquidity of assets to cover operations in the coming year.

Common denominator

Whether operating for a profit or not, all entities have a common need to produce timely financial statements that stakeholders can trust. Contact us for help reporting accurate financial results for your organization.

Atchley & Associates, LLP provides accounting services of various levels to many of our clients. The levels of services vary from consulting with startup companies about their accounting set up all the way to outsourcing their accounting department to us. We are able to provide a custom level of service to meet our client’s needs. Some of the accounting services we provide at Atchley & Associates include:

Outsourced payroll, set up, reporting, support and consulting

Outsourced bookkeeping, reconciliations of accounts such as bank, credit cards, loans and lines of credit, and preparation of any adjusting journal entries

Review of systems utilized and internal processes, and make recommendations of accounting platforms and ancillary applications

Customized Financial Statement preparation

Preparation or support for various compliance such as personal property renditions, Forms 1099, and Sales Tax

Year-end accounting analysis and clean-up in preparation for tax return

In addition, our team can take the pressure off business owners or executive directors that may not have the expertise or time to review and supervise the work performed by their accounting department. These leaders may not want to deal with having to worry about turnover or fraud in this critical position, and often engage us to support them in this area of their business or organization.

Our services are not specific to any one industry, therefore we are able to support various types of service industries including a number of non-profit clients.

I’ve put together some recent questions that our group has received and compiled them into a True or False Quiz as examples of how we support our client. As in every case, that correct answer is- “it depends”. However, you may find some helpful information for your business or line of work.

A client inquired, I receive a cell phone allowance with my payroll of $50 a month, this taxable compensation to me- true or false?

False- this can be considered non-taxable compensation, as a non-tax fringe benefit IF

– The employer has an accountable plan and

– There is a business connection for the cell phone use and

– The allowance does not exceed the cost of employee’s monthly plan (requires substantiation). Any excess allowance would be considered taxable compensation.

i. IRS Notice 2011-72

I had the privilege to attend the Rotary scholarship luncheon last month with our partner, Harold Ingersoll, where Rotarians gave out over $43K in scholarships towards recipient’s tuition and higher learning. The Rotary Club of Austin is not required to issue a 1099 to these recipients for the amount received- true or false?

True- the Rotary Club of Austin is not required to issue scholarship recipients a 1099 since these funds were not in connection with any services performed for teaching, research or other services as a condition for receiving the scholarship. It may not prevent the recipient from picking it up as income on their personal return, but nothing is required to be reported to the IRS by the Rotary Club of Austin.

i. Sec 117(b) and Regulations section 1.6041-3(n), Tax Topic 421

I have an hourly (non-exempt) employee therefore I am only required to pay them at least once a month in the state of Texas- True or False?

False- per Texas Pay Day Law hourly (non-exempt) employees must be paid at least twice a month.

i. Texas Payday Law section 61.011

I bought a used iPad mini for my business for $199. Since the cost is less than $250, I don’t need to report this property on the Personal Property Rendition for Travis County– true or false?

False- per Travis County Appraisal District, ALL business personal property that is used in business must be rendered on the form, regardless of the amount.

I just started a new business and have chosen QuickBooks Online as the application to provide record keeping for my business because I have heard it’s the best in the market- True or False?

Trick question- You might receive a different answer depending on who you ask. There are several new applications on the market that compare to QuickBooks Online. However, QuickBooks still retains a large portion of the small business market.

i. Contact us to find out what might be the right fit for your business.

You can leverage our services for more answers to these types of questions in addition to receiving accurate reporting and record keeping. Contact us for more information on how we can help your business.

The balance sheet usually reflects the historic cost of assets and liabilities. But certain items must be reported at “fair value” under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Here’s a closer look at what fair value is and which balance sheet accounts it affects.

Fair value vs. fair market value

Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 820 defines fair value as “the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.” This definition is similar in many respects to “fair market value,” which is defined in IRS Revenue Ruling 59-60.

The main difference is that fair market value focuses on the universe of hypothetical buyers and sellers. Conversely, FASB uses the term “market participants,” which refers to buyers and sellers in the asset’s or liability’s principal market. The principal market is entity specific and may vary among companies.

Hierarchy of value

Under ASC Topic 820, fair value is most often associated with business combinations and subsequent accounting for goodwill and other intangibles after the deal closes. Other examples of items that are reported at fair value include:

Impairment or disposals of long-lived assets,

Asset retirement or environmental obligations,

Stock compensation, and

Certain financial assets and liabilities.

When measuring fair value, the FASB provides a hierarchy of methods that may not necessarily apply to valuations performed for other purposes. GAAP gives top priority to market-based methods, such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

When market data isn’t readily available for a specific company, GAAP looks to quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities — in other words, comparable public stock prices or sales of controlling interests in comparable companies. The least desirable level of inputs under GAAP is unobservable data, such as cash flow or cost estimates prepared by management (which may be used to estimate value under the income or cost approach).

Changes in value

Decreases in the fair value of an asset (or increases in the fair value of a liability) may result from, say, poor company performance, changes in economic conditions and inaccurate estimates made in the past. Companies aren’t allowed to overstate the value of assets (or understate the value of a liability) under GAAP, so changes in fair value may lead to write-offs or restatements.

Outside expertise

Auditors are specifically prohibited from providing valuation services for their public audit clients. Private companies may follow suit to prevent independence issues during audits. So, companies often turn to valuation experts who are independent from their auditors to make fair value estimates — and then their auditors can evaluate whether those estimates appear reasonable. Contact us if you have any questions about fair value, including how it’s estimated or when it applies.

Successful business people have a solid understanding of the three financial statements prepared under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). A complete set of financial statements helps stakeholders — including managers, investors and lenders — evaluate a company’s financial condition and results. Here’s an overview of each report.

1. Income statement

The income statement (also known as the profit and loss statement) shows sales, expenses and the income earned after expenses over a given period. A common term used when discussing income statements is “gross profit,” or the income earned after subtracting the cost of goods sold from revenue. Cost of goods sold includes the cost of labor, materials and overhead required to make a product.

Another important term is “net income.” This is the income remaining after all expenses (including taxes) have been paid.

2. Balance sheet

This report tallies the company’s assets, liabilities and net worth to create a snapshot of its financial health. Current assets (such as accounts receivable or inventory) are reasonably expected to be converted to cash within a year, while long-term assets (such as plant and equipment) have longer lives. Similarly, current liabilities (such as accounts payable) come due within a year, while long-term liabilities are payment obligations that extend beyond the current year or operating cycle.

Net worth or owners’ equity is the extent to which the book value of assets exceeds liabilities. Because the balance sheet must balance, assets must equal liabilities plus net worth. If the value of your liabilities exceeds the value of the assets, your net worth will be negative.

Public companies may provide the details of shareholders’ equity in a separate statement called the statement of retained earnings. It details sales or repurchases of stock, dividend payments and changes caused by reported profits or losses.

3. Cash flow statement

This statement shows all the cash flowing into and out of your company. For example, your company may have cash inflows from selling products or services, borrowing money and selling stock. Outflows may result from paying expenses, investing in capital equipment and repaying debt.

Although this report may seem similar to an income statement, it focuses solely on cash. It’s possible for an otherwise profitable business to suffer from cash flow shortages, especially if it’s growing quickly.

Typically, cash flows are organized in three categories: operating, investing and financing activities. The bottom of the statement shows the net change in cash during the period. To remain in business, companies must continually generate cash to pay creditors, vendors and employees. So watch your statement of cash flows closely.

Ratios and trends

Are you monitoring ratios and trends from your financial statements? Owners and managers who pay regular attention to these three key reports stand a better chance of catching potential trouble before it gets out of hand and pivoting, when needed, to maximize the company’s value.